A tale of two cities

Commuting Aussie style has been the theme of recent times and is set to continue in the next week with my time alternating between Canberra and that little village up the road, Sydney. This week took me to Sydney for a few days and for once I didn’t catch a ferry anywhere whatsoever. Most of my time was spent between my hotel in the CBD and just across Darling Harbour and into Pyrmont. That’s not to say I didn’t get to see the sights, courtesy of my wonderful hotel room up on the 35th floor.

Meanwhile, back in the national capital, autumn has been creeping in and with it, beautiful days and cool nights. I have been undergoing a process of naturalisation, taking in two ‘footie’ matches at Canberra Stadium. Last Saturday was the Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons in Rugby League. For some reason the Raiders have a theme and mascot of Vikings… I have no idea what the connection between Canberra and Vikings are, but it gives the local hoons something to aspire to.

This weekend took in the ACT Brumbies v the Chiefs… and yes the Brumbies mascot is a rather pathetic looking horse. Being more familiar to Rugby Union this was something I could easier follow and I even recognised some names (well one name, Stirling Mortlock, who plays for the Brumbies). Alas the Brumbies lost but there were plenty of tries and a winning bet on first try scorer covered the cost of an Aussie meat pie and beer!

Despite all these attempts to fit in, it still seems I’m a bit of an oppressed ethnic minority, and have taken to some serious protesting…






Of course, with autumn comes the wonderful changing of the leafy suburban streets to a patchwork of reds and yellows and browns. The colours have not quite peaked yet, but a Saturday afternoon walk certainly showed the change in effect.

So it’s back to Sydney tomorrow, hopping across the skies to the city by the sea. My last flight took an amazing approach over the city, so all I can hope is that the flying kangaroo provides me with a window seat and more spectacular views. Meanwhile, back in Canberra the chill will set in and those leaves will continue to crisp up just nicely.